Since stepping down as Children’s Commissioner in 2010, would you say that the overall prospects for children and young people in the UK have improved, changed little or declined?
You’re interviewing me on a morning when two thousand headteachers are marching on Westminster. I think that exposes a huge crisis in education today, if indeed further exposure were needed. Though it’s not just in education that children are affected by crises – they’re happening across our health, social care and youth justice services. If you’re asking me whether childhood is in crisis – I believe it is.
What are the chief factors behind the crisis you describe?
As a result of austerity and devastating cuts to services, there’s no question in my mind that children’s services are under the most enormous strain and stress. It’s time the public understood the enormity of this, and that politicians did something about it.
Your latest book is titled The British Betrayal of Childhood – who or what in your view is doing the betraying?
The book is deliberately challenging and provocative because I want to provoke debate, and above all, see action being taken to improve children’s outcomes. It’s a book that looks at not just education, health or social care, but rather at the bigger picture of what’s actually going on.
However, I also want to celebrate what’s good. That really important, because we’ve got fantastic kids everywhere, with wonderful parents who are trying their best; we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that we have much to be proud of and that for many children, it’s the best of times to be a child. The book’s purpose is to remind people that for too many children, it’s the worst of times. We have to ask why that is.
What needs to start happening at a policy level to bring about the kind of changes you’re calling for?
Children are in this situation for four reasons. The first is related to the public and political attitudes we have here towards the importance of children, which are very different compared with other countries and deeply ingrained in our society.
The second reason is that for far too long, government policies have been short-term, inconsistent and in some cases, untrustworthy. Look at Every Child Matters – that was a policy under New Labour that brought about an extraordinary era, where we had a Cabinet Minister for Children, Schools and Families right at the heart of government. We had a joined-up policy, with each Department of State held accountable for what they were doing for children. The first fruits of this were just emerging when the Coalition government came to power in 2010, and proceeded to systematically dismantle the whole edifice of Every Child Matters, leaving us with no overall policy framework for children.
The third reason is that we’ve failed to be effective advocates for the importance of children, and the final reason is that bunkers and silos now exist everywhere in government and between our professions now. There are walls between our health and education Ministries; between the primary and secondary phases; between professional organisations that barely talk to each other. We should be examining what’s in children’s best interests and how we can address those together.
So what can we do?
First of all, we need get out of our offices and see where things are being done well. I’ve been to Finland many times, and was there recently visiting a children’s nursery in Helsinki. As with all of my previous visits, I found myself asking the same question – why is Finland so good for its children? Right up front, they told me it was their attitude to the importance of children in their society and future.
I enter this nursery and soon see that the staff are all graduates, many with Masters degrees in subjects like psychology and the science of play. They consider themselves well paid and receive immense satisfaction from what they do. Of course, Finnish children don’t start formal schooling until they’re seven. The staff told me that ‘school-readiness’ there refers to Finnish schools being ready for children, not the other way round.
Contrast that with what’s happening here, and the government’s proud declaration of free nursery places for babies and young children – what’s driving that is the objective of getting mothers back into work. Why can’t we recognise the early years are absolutely crucial for child development?
As a paediatrician, what are your thoughts on what appears to be an increasing incidence among UK children of behavioural difficulties and growing demand for SEND provision?
That’s a hugely complicated area that can’t be addressed in a few words, but I would raise the question of whether we fully recognise the importance of parenting in this country – and my short answer would be that we don’t.
Teachers and primary schools are currently confronting a parenting deficit. In the book I cite the work of The Potty Training Academy, Promoting Positive Parenting and other organisations supporting school starters who haven’t been potty-trained, who are undisciplined or who don’t have the simple social skills they need to interact with others.
Those organisations do a fantastic job of working with young parents faced with the most difficult job in the world. As a society, we must recognise the importance of parenting as part of the nurture of children, and build local communities that can further support and nurture them. This isn’t just a job for parents and schools; it should be everybody’s business.
You’ve previously spoken and written about the aspirations your own parents had for you and the broader culture of ‘self improvement’ that surrounded them. Can you see any possibility of that culture coming back or emerging in a new, modern form?
Yes, I think it can. There are pockets of people doing such things already, of course, and I’m not saying there’s been a complete death of cultural activity in communities – far from it – but it’s not joined up. I know that the government is looking at this. Plans are being devised around developing new ‘healthy communities’, which is to be admired, but there remains a leadership issue in localities.
We need to find people in localities, and indeed schools, who are prepared to think outside the box and start working together to improve the wider culture, boost outcomes and broaden attitudes to our most precious resource. With people living longer, who’s going to provide the wealth to support them? It’s the children of today. The Treasury has to understand the economic implications of failing to do right by children and see what many of us are trying to achieve – skilled, healthy, educated, creative, resilient and happy children.
Career timeline
- 1973 Commences training in paediatric medicine
- 1984 Appointed James Spence Professor of Child Health at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
- 2000 Assumes the role of National Clinical Director for Children at the Department of Health
- 2005 Becomes the first independent statutory Children’s Commissioner for England
- 2006 Receives Knighthood for his services to children and young people
- 2015 Appointed President of the British Medical Association
The British Betrayal of Childhood: Challenging Uncomfortable Truths and Bringing About Change by Sir Al Aynsley-Green is available now, published by Routledge; for more information, visit aynsley-green.com
